Korea's National Museum Reopens at New Home

Visitors to the National Museum of Korea look at exhibits in the museum¡¯s new venue that opened in downtown Seoul Friday.

The National Museum of Korea, Asia's largest museum and the sixth-largest in the world in terms of space, has 11,000 Korean and Asian artifacts on display for a closer look at the region's history.

It is the first time for the National Museum of Korea to have a a permanent home, having moved six times since it was established in 1945.

"The national museum is a representation of Korea but never had its own home. We are very proud to present this new edifice for the very first time," said Lee Kun-moo, director of the museum, said in a recent interview.

The opening ceremony was held Friday morning, attended by hundreds of political and cultural dignitaries from home and abroad.

Visitors were to be allowed in for free, starting Friday afternoon. As part of the celebratory events, Korea's nonverbal percussion performance, Nanta, and other shows were to follow in the evening.

The museum stands on 307,227 square meters of land in the central district of Seoul, featuring a main building and extensive gardens and indigenous plants. The museum building is 424 meters long and has six floors above the ground, with its oblong design based on the walls of Korea's ancient fortresses. The construction took eight years.

The museum accommodates permanent exhibitions in its first three floors - Archaeological Gallery and Historical Gallery on the first floor; Fine Arts Gallery I and Donation Gallery on the second floor; Fine Arts Gallery II and Asian Arts Gallery on the third floor.

Each floor has a " Path of History,"a passageway that divides the two galleries and have large artifacts like statues. The fourth to sixth floors are for temporary exhibitions.

The museum owns 150,000 artifacts in total, and 11,000 of them are now on display. In addition, the museum employs cutting-edge technology. A digital navigation system guides visitors through the museum, and mobile gadgets like MP3 players and PDPs help visitors explore their preferred courses and get information about the artifacts.

Also, every artifact has its own automatic information system, which operates when visitors arrive.

The museum first opened in a hall of Gyeongbok Palace in the winter of 1945, shortly after Korea regained its sovereignty from Japanese colonial rule. But it never had a permanent home, moving from one palace to another.

The idea for a permanent home came in 1993 under the administration of Kim Youngsam. After years of consideration, the government started construction in the Yongsan district, where a helicopter pad for U.S. troops had been located. Admission to the museum will be free until the end of this year.

From January, the entrance fee for adults will be 2,000 won ($1.90) and free for children aged under six and the elderly older than 65.